Uganda Declared Ebola Free

On 15th May 2026, the World Health Organization declared an Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, recommending that other countries revise their travel advisories to ensure that the disease does not get out of hand. A few weeks later, they discovered that though it was true that there was an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the situation had been exaggerated. Uganda also battled the misinformation of being bundled together with Congo. Some people outside the African continent thought that the Democratic Republic of Congo was part of Uganda.

This was made worse by the United States of America labelling the whole country red because of Ebola cases that could be counted on one hand. Shortly after that, several other countries put Uganda in the level 4 travel category, which is do not travel. A few months went by without any cases from the public in Uganda; however, that didn’t change the narrative. Among the terrible things that happened in the same period was the cancellation of the KLM flights to Uganda, which affected the tourism industry. In fact, one person said jokingly on X that amidst Ebola in Uganda, the only thing that had died was tourism.

To curb the spread of Ebola, in June, Uganda set up emergency medical camps to ensure that the disease is curbed at the source. During the same period, the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has remained closed.

A few days ago, Uganda discharged its final Ebola patient; thus, the Ministry of Health declared Uganda to be Ebola-free. However, even though Uganda has declared itself to be Ebola-free, it requires a period of 42 days without any new case for the country to be declared by the World Health Organization free of Ebola. Though tourism in Uganda had continued even during the Ebola misinformation period, the country is hopeful that its tourism numbers will pick up. Part of the peak season has already been affected, but some travelers are already rebooking their trips to Uganda.

The month of may, June and July were affected in the tourism industry but it also provided an opportunity for the self drive industry in Uganda to present itself as the best safari option. Travelers continued traversing the country without fear since self drive safaris give them a sense of self isolation where you only watch things from a far. During these rooftop tent camping trips, you can also prepare your own meals instead of depending on a restaurant.

What next after the Ebola Free News

Many gorilla trekking permits and chimpanzee tracking permits had been cancelled or put on hold because people could not travel. This is now the best time to reschedule your permits to your preferred dates. However if you had booked permits in May, you might have to top up more money because May was a low season thus the permits a little beat cheaper than the standard price.

You might still feel uncomfortable visiting Uganda shortly after it being declared free of Ebola. Your fears are understandable thus there are two options still. You can reschedule your trip to a future date. Or you can cancel and ask for a refund. It is however important to note that even though they talk about the percentages of refund, the government taxes which are unrefundable have to be put into account.

For instance, if you are meant to get 50% refund, the money will be less than 50% because of the government taxes. With that said, it is often better to simply reschedule your trip to a future date instead of asking for a refund but if you choose to ask for a refund, you might have to lose a reasonable amount of money.

At 4x4uganda, we are still open to advise you about your trip. Should you have any other questions, do not hesitate to reach out to our team.